Harper continues to hammerat 'coalition' threat

Stephen Harper appears determined to campaign against the notion of a coalition threat that his Liberal opponent has explicitly ruled out.

The prime minister opened the first full day of election campaigning in Brampton, Ont., with a laundry list of Conservative budget goodies that were rejected by the parliamentary majority last week.

In a speech to partisans in a Liberal-held riding just north of Toronto, Harper cited numerous budget measures that have been denied to voters by the opposition parties.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff ruled out forming a coalition government this weekend but the Conservatives nonetheless are using the prospect to make a pitch for a majority of seats in the House of Commons.

Conservatives have been targeting the suburban ridings north of Toronto that are densely populated with middle-class, first- and second-generation Canadians in an effort to pick up the additional 12 seats they need to ensure four years of uninterrupted Harper rule.

Ignatieff is campaigning in Montreal while Jack Layton is working B.C.’s lower mainland, where both the Conservatives and New Democrats claim they can make gains this election.